


Trusted Tea

by Madampringle



Series: Lorenz Week 2020 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Established My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan, Friendship, Gen, LorenzWeek2020, Mentioned Claude von Riegan, Mentioned Lorenz's Father, Platonic Relationships, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Revelry/Tea, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26239273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madampringle/pseuds/Madampringle
Summary: “I do not understand what you are trying to imply.” Lorenz admitted, fingers brushing against his teacup once again, the light of the setting sun bouncing off the brickwork of the courtyards of the Riegan estate. Byleth was silent once more, staring at him with that unblinking stare.“Lorenz.” She started, her voice softening ever so slightly. “What do you want to do, with your future?”----In which the subject of a Prime Minister is brought up over tea, and the Queen doesn't beat around the bush.
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester & My Unit | Byleth
Series: Lorenz Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905970
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15
Collections: Lorenz Week 2020





	Trusted Tea

**Author's Note:**

> For LorenzWeek2020
> 
> Day 1: Rose/Revelry/Tea

“You have certainly never failed to impress with your dedication to the art of brewing tea, your majesty.”

Lorenz could tell that his words had an effect on the dark haired woman, though it was not the kind he expected. Byleth’s eyes flickered upwards to meet his own, and while her small smile reflected her humor, he could tell that she felt a need to correct him. Knowing her, he had an idea of what she would say.

“Lorenz. I’m telling you, honestly, you don’t need to refer to me as “your majesty”. Byleth is fine. Or professor, though I haven’t been your professor in a very long time.” Lorenz could hear the muted mutter in her voice at the end, clearly an indication of a past conversation that he was not so privy to. He assumed that there were many conversations that he was not privy to when it came to the new Queen, conversations that were reserved for everyone else who was as close to her as he was. Winning a war and defeating the Adrestian Empire and a revived King of Liberation on a rampage through the Leicester Alliance certainly garnered popularity for the former mercenary. Enough to accept her as their ruler.

After Claude left, of course. Disappeared. Abandoned his responsibilities without a word in advance, leaving the destroyed continent to them. To her. With no way to tell if he was even alive, leaving them behind. Leaving her behind-

“I would feel offended to disrespect your accomplishments.” He cut his own thoughts off before the anxiety and anger could fester in again at the thought of Claude’s whereabouts. “Though, shall I ask if that is an order?”

Byleth sighed softly, though she hid her laughter behind a sip of her tea. “Yes. It’s an order, Count Gloucester.” She spoke of his own title with a twinge of sarcasm, though it was clear there was a fondness in her voice that Lorenz had always relished in. He found his own humor responding in turn to hers, his lips tilting upwards around the rim of his own cup.

“Very well...at least, I will try. Byleth...hm. It is so strange…”

  
“My name?” She mused, lifting a brow and making him momentarily startle. 

“Oh, no! Your name is delightful, it is merely the thought of referring to you on such...an equal term, I suppose. That is what is concerning to me. It is so strange to remind myself that I am speaking to a new Queen who is currently uniting the continent. I can still remember when I first met you, when I questioned the decision of having a mercenary practically my own age as my instructor...Of course now I see where I was incorrect, and I can say with utter certainty that you are more than capable of your rank. You, your ma-...Byleth, you are more suited to lead this new world than anyone else.”

“...” Her silence struck Lorenz with a wave of confusion, and a hint of regret. Had he spoken too hastily? Had he said something that had offended her? He swallowed his tea, gazing at her with anticipation. He did not expect the stony look that she offered him.

“Lorenz. You know that I’m not going to be able to do this alone. You’ve always told me that I am a capable leader, able to unite forces under my leadership. In combat, that might be true...but I’m no politician. I’ve spent years learning to fight with a sword, not with a quill. I can read every law and sign every agreement, but I’m not going to be some magnificent leader in the meeting rooms compared to the battlefield.”

“If I may interject.” Lorenz placed his teacup down on the white saucer, the rose petal blend swirling near the rim. “I would dare say that you are more than capable of political procedures than you think. I have witnessed the strength in your voice, the drive that you exude to reach your goals. You have already shown vast improvement in cabinet meetings. Margrave Edmund expressed his approval at the last Roundtable, and I know that the delegations of the former Kingdom and Imperial territories have begun to recognize your leadership on and off the battlefield.”

He had hoped his words of encouragement would reach her, as they had in prior conversations. Yet, the tiredness he saw in his former professor was even more profound. She was utterly exhausted, just as he was, managing the recovery of the continent without Claude’s boundless wit. He closed his mouth, realizing that the Queen had opened hers to interject his interjection.

“The only reason that’s been the case is because you have been taking time out of your own responsibilities to show me how it all works. At first I was desperate just to know basic policy...but now I’ve realized that I don’t need guidance. I need assistance, on as equal of a ground as possible.” Her eyes flickered with a deeper meaning, one that Lorenz was unable to decipher. He tugged lightly at the sleeve of his waistcoat, an instinctive tick he had developed under her intense eye. He wondered if she could see right through him. If she could see the broiling tension in his chest, how difficult it had become to merely open his mouth and speak to his own people, let alone entire delegations of all corners of the continent. Compared to older generations, Byleth and himself were newcomers to the field, wet in the nose and sparking with an almost naive optimism in relation to the future of Fodlan. Did she feel as cornered as he did? 

“I do not understand what you are trying to imply.” Lorenz admitted, fingers brushing against his teacup once again, the light of the setting sun bouncing off the brickwork of the courtyards of the Riegan estate. Byleth was silent once more, staring at him with that unblinking stare.

“Lorenz.” She started, her voice softening ever so slightly. “What do you want to do, with your future?”

Well. That was certainly a strange question. He blinked owlishly, looking at her over the top of his teacup once more, pausing at his lips with a faint exhale. He tilted his head, speaking as though the answer was obvious. “My future? I have already sworn to do all that I can to ensure that Fodlan has a future, one that is stable and peaceful. That is what I wish to help you accomplish.”

“No.” Byleth murmured pointedly, staring through him as easily as she always had. “I mean, beyond Fodlan, or beyond me, or beyond the vision that Claude saw. You, personally. What do you want for yourself?”   


“Why are you asking such a thing?” Lorenz’s voice twittered with exasperation, confusion filling his eyes. “I fail to see how my answer would change. My responsibility is to the people of Gloucester, and to all in Fodlan who stand under your leadership.” Such a strange conversation to be held over tea, especially in such stressful times. Surely she did not think he was disloyal, did she? Surely she did not think him incapable of providing for the betterment of their continent? The very thought made his stomach coil and his muscles tense up.

“...Because I want to ask something of you, but I know that you’ll agree simply because I asked.”

“That is not-”

“It is.” Byleth shook her head, turning her gaze to the stretching gardens around them, so serene while the world around them was still wrought with chaos. She seemed introspective, and Lorenz knew he would not be able to picture what was bothering her this day. 

“I’m tired of having to feel like people are obligated to do things they don’t want to. I refuse to be anyone’s Queen if it means I have to take away their free will, or coerce them into a life they don’t choose.” Her eyes trained back on him, rare in their stormy expression. “I chose this role, even if I was nervous at first...because I want to see the world that Claude saw. I knew that there needed to be a change, in nearly everything we’ve ever known... But I can’t do that alone. I also can’t do it if I force you at my side, though.”

What was she saying? Lorenz’s fingers curled tightly, frustration ebbing in his voice as he sighed. “Do you know what I truly want? I truly want to bring prosperity to my homeland, to everyone that was ravaged by this tragic war. I want to see the apple orchards bloom, and the cattle graze, and the trade routes bustling. I want cooperation and contentment, I want to…” He looked down at his cup, losing himself in the dark reflection he saw there.

“I want to make it right.” He admitted quietly. “I want to prove that I meant what I said to you. I want to be someone that you can rely on in your most tumultuous times. I wish to be someone that you can put your trust in...as I have put my trust completely in you. I wish to be the person that you think of me as, that you regard highly. I wish to be better, in whatever way required to fulfil the promises I have made. Does that quell your fears, my friend?”

He did not mean to sound so sharp at the end, and he admittedly lifted his teacup with a twinge of regret. Even so, there was no anger in Byleth’s eyes, merely a conceding of defeat, and an emotion that he could not decipher. She placed her cup down, her small smile still as cherished to him as ever.

“I don’t doubt you, Lorenz. I never have...it makes everything lighter, knowing that you genuinely want to help me, help everyone. I just...I don’t want you to feel obligated, do you understand me? No matter what I ask, I need you to know that you will always have a choice, and I will not ever hate you or shame you for that choice. You need to promise me that you understand that.”

He blinked at her again, now enriched with nerves at the severity of her words. The mere aspect of having a choice in a matter he had always just assumed was mandatory was still a new concept to him. He had never questioned his roles in the past, and yet there was a strange sense of security in his heart that she had chosen his freedom of choice over her own stress as a monarch. He could not deny the pleading in her voice though, and he nodded with full sincerity.

“I promise, on my honor as Count Gloucester, I understand.”

“I need an advisor. Not an unofficial one, but an official one. I need someone who won’t fall under pressure, who knows how to hold their own in the meeting rooms, and who can persuade with his voice and not with bloodshed.”

“Byleth. That is-”

“I need security, someone that can take my place in a moment’s notice if anything happens to me, someone who won’t dictate through religion or lack thereof.” She did not let him interrupt her, her voice steady as stone as she listed her requests. “I need someone who will help me, and who I can help in turn, and I need someone who understands Fodlan’s governmental workings more than even I do. I need a right hand that I can trust.” She kept her gaze steady as she finally allowed him to speak.

“That sounds achingly similar to a Prime Minister, Professor…” His voice was weaker than he hoped, a hesitancy straining in his throat at the direction of the conversation. He stared at her, every emotion since the passing of his father and the subsequent discovery of his horrendous legacy filling him once again. 

“That’s because it’s what I’m asking. Before you say anything, yes, I thought long and hard. I weighed all the options, but it was always clear to me who I was going to ask first. It’s a lot, I know...but I’m not going to sugar coat anything. You know me better than that.”

“Yes…” He rasped, swallowing down his tea, suddenly like stone in his mouth. “I know, you certainly never do…”

“You can say no.” Byleth murmured, the honesty in her voice tearing into him. “You won’t lose anything from me if you say no.”

“The people know what my father has done. They know how he used others, destroyed others as he tore his way through the ranks. They know of his monstrous deeds now, of all of them. I am utterly honored that I was your first choice for such a position…” His voice must have sounded like gravel, grating at his own ears and heart as he found himself gazing at his former professor. Years ago, he would have jumped at such an opportunity. Years of warfare and reevaluation and escapism from his father’s influence had changed him immensely though, and now he could not even foresee himself as anything more than a Count pushing to undo the wrongs of his predecessor. “You are aware that if you truly have me in such a position, that there will be outrage, and accusation of bias.”

_ They will see my father at your side, not me. _

He could not say it, but he could tell that she knew he was implying it. The flash of ferocity in her eyes signified that she was not so privy to his words.

“Then they can come to me personally, and I can remind them who’s been drafting more of a majority of the policies in one moon than they could have come up with in years. I can remind them who fought a war to protect them, and who’s actually been helping the continent rebuild.”

“No.” As touched as he was at her insistence to defend his honor, he could not bear to see her sullied in his name. Even so, the mere sight of her defending him did bring a sliver of hope into his heart...She genuinely desired his advice, genuinely desired his political aptitude. The anguish of his father’s legacy burned in him, and yet the cool calamity of Byleth’s steady request soothed the bitter emotions. “I would not have you fight my battles, Byleth. Not anymore. I must ask though...Do you truly trust me? If I...if I were to say yes, to swear myself as your Prime Minister, you would trust me, even if my name is slandered to the corners of the continent?...You would trust me with such a responsibility?”

She nodded without pause, piercing Lorenz’s heart with her determined gaze.

“I’ve trusted you for a very long time. That hasn’t changed...I know how much you want to see Fodlan succeed for the better. I know how much you can give to this new Kingdom. Above all, I know that no matter how others might look at you, that you can push forwards.”

“...This is the most I’ve ever heard you speak during tea.” His voice was wrought with emotion that he had a hard time trying to conceal. Byleth merely sipped at her tea, shrugging softly. “I talk when it’s important. This is important. You are important.”

Important. She believed he was important. He supposed that alone was worth all of the agony in the world. 

“Then yes.” He decided, shoving away at the terrified and monstrous voice in his mind telling him how foolish he was, how incapable, how unsuited he was-

She trusted him.

“I will do it.”

“Lorenz. I mean it. You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to.”

He shook his head sharply. If he was to walk into this stream, he would wade until the current tore him asunder. If this was what Byleth believed was the best course, then he would follow her to the ends of the world. Not simply for her, but for himself, and for the people he had come to treasure so deeply. Nervousness rippled in his stomach, but the determination to prove he could leave a mark in this new dawn overshadowed it. 

_ She trusted him. _

“No. This is what I want, Byleth. If you trust me with such a position, then I will stand at your call, and I will assist you in mending the United Kingdom’s scars.” He held his cup tightly, envisioning the future ahead. He swallowed, watching as she finally seemed to accept that this was what he wanted. Lorenz would never forget the relief in her eyes and the weight that visually lifted from her shoulders. 

“...Then I will take it as a formal agreement, Count Gloucester.”

The teacup in his hand met the saucer on the table, the antique wood bearing witness to another moment of irreversible history. He took a deep breath, guided his fears away from himself, and extended his hand towards her, empowered by the strength she shared as she took hold in return.

“Shall we get to work then, your majesty?”

**Author's Note:**

> So excited for Lorenz Week! This is for day 1, with the selected theme of Tea for this fic, though it's moreso focused on Byleth's trust in Lorenz and vice versa. They're rebuilding a continent, after all. I firmly believe that Byleth would choose Lorenz as her closest advisor and second hand, and that Claude knew this and expected it before he left.
> 
> A few notes:
> 
> \- Byleth is Queen of the United Kingdom of Fodlan. She is not Archbishop. Seteth is the Archbishop, but the Church and State are separated. This is a post Golden-Deer route as well, and per usual, every recruitble student lives.
> 
> \- Count Gloucester died early post-game, so Lorenz is already Count by this time. By now, the continent is aware of how awful Count Gloucester was, and Lorenz especially. I feel as if he wants to show that he is not his father, and that he is a far better man.
> 
> \- Claude/Byleth is established, they get married, if it's not your jam, I apologize, but it's in this verse of this week.
> 
> \- This is a bit of a character study for Lorenz, as most of my fics are.


End file.
